500 Club's Junior Member

Weeklong Chase Ends

Slowed by injuries since returning to his hometown of Cincinnati in 2000, Griffey had seen his status as the best player in baseball fall by the wayside.

Rejuvenated this year, Junior hit his 500th career home run Sunday as the Reds defeated the Cardinals 6-0 in St. Louis.

``Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever accomplish this,'' Griffey said. ``All the aches and pains I've had this year were gone for like two minutes. It was awesome.''

Griffey, 34, is the sixth youngest to hit 500 homers.

After being stuck on 499 for a week, it was a relatively low-key moment.

He hit a fastball from Matt Morris into the right field stands to lead off the sixth inning, his 19th homer of the season.

``I stayed away with breaking balls until on a 2-and-2 count I tried to slip a fastball by him,'' Morris said. ``I guess people have been doing that 500 times, and it didn't work.''

Griffey watched it reach the seats, then dropped his bat and slowly trotted around the bases.

Griffey tapped fists with teammate Adam Dunn at the plate and his other teammates, including old friend Barry Larkin, came out on the field to congratulate him.

Griffey then went to a box next to the Reds dugout and hugged his father and his children.

Ken Griffey Sr. said Junior told him, ``Happy Father's Day.''

He added, ``It was a nice Father's Day present, but it's an easy way to get out of giving me something. He used to do that for me for my birthday all the time. He's got to get something else now.''

Griffey received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 45,620 as he ran out to center field before the bottom of the sixth, and waved his cap. The homer helped the Reds end a nine-game road losing streak.

Griffey was the youngest player to reach 350, 400 and 450 homers before injuries slowed him the last three seasons and turned his infectious smile to a frown.

Even a close friend such as former Mariners teammate Jay Buhner wondered whether Junior would ever turn it around and get back to being the dominant player he once was. Buhner noted that Griffey had become obsessed by perceived negative reactions in the press and among fans.

``Junior spends too much time on the Internet reading a lot of garbage,'' Buhner said. ``I told him he should throw away his computer.''

Each year, he would come to spring training excited about getting started only to have a serious injury cut him down. This season, he has stayed healthy enough to get more than 200 at-bats for the first time since 2001, when a hamstring injury limited him to 364 at-bats. The result has been a return to prominence and entry into a club that despite the upsurge in power since the mid 1990s, remains exclusive.

Griffey is the 20th player to hit 500 or more home runs, and he should have gotten there a lot sooner. After his 40-homer first season in Cincinnati in 2000, Griffey had 438 career home runs. Barry Bonds was at 494, and hit 73 in 2001 to fly past the 500 mark.

A torn right hamstring sidelined Griffey, who was forced to watch Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro go by him. Even Fred McGriff moved ahead of Griffey, who played in 70 games in 2002 because of a torn right knee tendon and 53 games last season because of a dislocated right shoulder.

Griffey endured boos in Cincinnati. A survey of local fans said he should be traded and a near deal to San Diego was negated when the Padres' Phil Nevin exercised his veto power.

But with Junior back on the field and swatting homers, the fans are behind him and he is back to being a wisecracker and practical joker in the clubhouse.

Griffey might be past the chance to make a real run at Hank Aaron's career mark of 755 homers, but he has never been driven that much by records. When Roger Maris' 61 home runs were still the single-season mark, Junior twice hit 56 and said each time he was content with that.

Griffey's stated goal is to play in a World Series, something missing from a resume with 11 All-Star selections, 10 Gold Gloves and unanimous selection as American League MVP in 1997.

The 500th home run ball was caught by Mark Crummley, 19, of Mount Carmel, Ill., who gave it to Griffey after the game. Griffey gave Crummley the jersey off his back and a large shopping bag filled with other memorabilia.

``It didn't seem right to plea bargain,'' Crummley said. ``So I gave it back to him.''